â€œCornhole: The Movieâ€ follows four teams on their way to the National Cornhole Championship, an annual competition that rallies together a wildly diverse cast of characters all intent on the same thing: taking home the coveted Bronze Sack. Experience the one sport where you’ll find a â€œknocked up,” conniving Jewish Princess, a Mafioso misfit, breeding bounty hunters, and passionate Cuban exiles battling it out to get one in the hole. Each bag they toss brings them closer to personal victory and draws the audience deeper into the wacky world of competitive cornhole.
The actual story behind the film begins like this … a mother made her son-in-law a cornhole set that turned out to be a big hit when he took it tailgating in Pittsburg. A newspaper article was written the next week when a half a dozen tailgaters showed up with their own freshly made cornhole boards. The article wound up on our desk in Los Angeles and we saw the beginning of a sporting phenomenon.

We quickly found the next event and we were on our way to Cincinnati for the Easter Seals Tournament in Eden Park. We arrived early that morning to find Frank Geers and the American Cornhole Organization all ready set up. Wildly passionate about the sport, Frank would soon become a driving force in making â€œCornhole: The Movieâ€ a reality. Add to that the rabid fan base and we knew we were in the middle of something special.

This film had to be made, but how? What we lacked in funds, we made up for with enthusiasm and ingenuity. We didnâ€™t have money to pay the crew, so we offered on-set experience to the students at Brown Mackie College and the Art Institute of Ohio. We didnâ€™t have bleachers for the tournament scenes or catering to feed over 250 cast, crew and extras, but we had product placement opportunities throughout the film for sponsors like Greg Hardman at Hudy Delight and Heather Holthaus at Pure Romance, who helped fill those needs.

Cincinnati, its people and its companies jumped behind the movie 100 percent. When we arrived in March for pre-production and casting, the newly formed team was out performing our wildest expectations. We were booked on three televisions shows; seven radio-stations and had two interviews with newspapers. By the end of our week, Jacque Loughery at Dare to Dream Casting had over 500 requests for auditions from as far away as Philadelphia!

Filming began in late May. The inexperienced crew gelled quickly with the experienced department heads, allowing the actors the freedom to tell the story of â€œCornhole: The Movie.â€ John Morrell, Marxâ€™s Bagels, Deweyâ€™s Pizza, Funkyâ€™s Catering, All Star Container, Clarke Services, Netherland Rubber Company and the Original Table Top Cornhole all jumped in where needed and made the 18 days of shooting not only possible, but also enjoyable. The Wrap party hosted by Hudy Delight and The Lodge was epic. Limos, a red carpet and press all for a wrap party!

As we entered post-production, the people of the Queencity kept contributing. Brown Mackie College provided editing interns. Hometown boy, Eric Sheve at Little Epic Productions provided the filmâ€™s graphics and Bill White, then DJ extraordinaire, now professional songwriter, provided a song. These creative and talented people lifted â€œCornhole: The Movieâ€ to the next level.

Itâ€™s been a long journey since filming wrapped in Cincinnati, with lots of ups and downs along the way. Clarke/Kent Pictures is proud of the film it has made and the partnerships it has formed. Our companyâ€™s Mission statement was forged by the collaborative event that took place three years ago between a team of filmmakers, a city, itâ€™s companies and itâ€™s people.

Clarke/Kent Pictures is committed to creating and developing motion picture projects that are both authentic and inspiring. We have confidence in the collaborative process and weâ€™re drawn to exploring concepts, which we find to be both compelling and profitable. Clarke/Kent Pictures believes in a foundation of unity and trust between our filmmakers, investors, vendors and distributors. We are dedicated to giving back to our industry and community. We believe in the creative process and weâ€™re committed to working with exciting and inventive filmmakers and business partners as we continue to not only grow, but to thrive.